This season’s excavations continued the work begun in 2013 in the sector of the urban area of Carsulae situated midway between the forum area and the Arch of San Damiano, to date unexplored. The work of the preceding three years uncovered: 33 metres of a late Republican basalt road, beside a large dolina; a paving measuring 5 x 6 m of Augustan date abutting the road to the south-east; three rooms of Augustan date to the side of the road; a small paved area in front of the entrance to room C; a substantial dump of materials immediately downhill (to the south) on top of the Augustan paving inside the dolina. The 2016 excavations concentrated on three fronts: 1. A 5 x 5 m trench was opened downhill from the paved surface in order to explore the previously identified dump. The excavation confirmed the existence of the dump that was formed by at least four deposits of material (UUSS 3073, 3076, 3082, and 3083) all of the same date, the result of wide-ranging work undertaken to reorganise the urban layout above. This involved the cleaning of ground surface (UUSS 3076, 3082, and 3083, containing large amounts of materials, mainly pottery) and the levellings of the natural bank, which produced a very large quantity of earth mixed with travertine fragments (US 3073, which sealed the underlying layers). The preliminary studies of some classes of materials made it possible to date the dump to between the last decade of the 1st century B.C. and the first decade of the 1st century A.D. It appears likely that it was created in order to raise the ground level (that sloped notably towards the centre of the dolina) to the level of the small paved area in front of room C. 2. The excavation of room C was completed by removing the remaining fill relating to the area’s abandonment phase. The excavation revealed that in the second half of the 4th century A.D. all of the paving was removed. The Republican cut in the travertine bedrock on which all the structures were built was also exposed. The only interesting data that emerged from this investigation was the confirmation of how, from the late 4th century A.D., the area was abandoned and the structures dismantled in order to reuse the construction materials. The accumulation of materials carried by hill wash began in this phase. 3. A small trench was opened on the eastern edge of the excavation area in order to check the continuity of the structure. Immediately below the turf, there was a wall on an east-west alignment, probably in phase with the front of rooms A, B, and C, and of a floor surface made of limestone _basoli_ abutted by a later stone paving. A smooth column drum, 1.5 m long and 50 cm in diameter lay abutting the wall on top of the stone paving, probably where it was abandoned by those robbing building materials.

During the second excavation campaign at _Carsulae_, the area immediately south of the forum was investigated for the first time, following a geophysical survey (Trench E). A first trench of 160 m2 was opened in this new sector, which revealed a series of walls, mainly preserved at foundation level and probably relating to one, or perhaps two different _domus_. A total of nine rooms were recorded, only one of which was fully excavated, all originally paved with mosaic. All the mosaic floors, datable to the Augustan period, were clearly attributable to the first building phase. The mosaics had missing patches and presented damage caused by robbing and agricultural activity. All the mosaics found to date had geometric decorations made of white and black tesserae: atrium: black tesserae with stone and marble insertions; right wing: orthogonal composition of flanking squares, formed by four rectangles arranged around a square; threshold between the wing and the north rooms: orthogonal composition of tangential lozenges, forming a grid of rectangles; _cubiculum_: six-point star decorations within hexagons; large west room: (perhaps part of another building), on the field, a single meander of interconnecting swastikas with hourglasses surrounded by a border of walls in Greek-style _opus_ _quadratum_ and T-shaped towers. As regards the demolition of the structure, the discovery of a group of ten lamps on the floor of the right wing, suggests that it occurred no later than the second half of the 3rd century A.D. Although the city was not abandoned before the end of the 4th century A.D., no other structures were built in this area. Interesting evidence also emerged from the discovery of a cut made by a mechanical digger in 1992 in the floor of the atrium. Here, at 80 cm below the _domus_ floor surface, several paving slabs were uncovered that were probably part of the forum of the Republican period. Also in the forum area, the west side, which was partially excavated by Umberto Ciotti in 1953, was completely cleaned as it had lain in a state of total abandonment for decades. Part of a large building on a podium, a stone paved surface, a _sacellum_ and a sunken corridor were identified. The podium building can be identified as the _Capitolium_. Over the next three years, it is hoped to complete the work left unfinished by Ciotti, thus increasing knowledge of the entire forum area. Lastly, in trench D (north-east quarter, on the edge of the large sinkhole), the investigation of the large midden of Augustan date continued, advancing six metres towards the centre of the depression. Several thousand fragments of pottery were recovered. A small area east of room C was also investigated, documenting the presence of a small patch of a late cobblestone surface, cut by a large post-medieval trench that also damaged the long wall that formed the front of rooms A, B, and C.

During the third excavation campaign the investigations continued on the south side of the forum that were begun last year (trench E), and a trench was opened on the west side (trench F) where the remains of a podium building identifiable as the _capitolium_ began to emerge. In trench E, where nine rooms were identified, the trench was enlarged from 160 to 500 m2. Eight more rooms were identified making a total of 17, all belonging to one large _domus_ of Augustan date for which it was possible to define the plan and the function of each room. To date the following have been documented and partially identified: Atrium (room A, partially excavated, c. 10 x 14 m); Right wing (room E, excavated, 3.7 x 4.3 m); Pool (room D, partially excavated, 1.4 x 3.6 m); Tablinium (room I, excavated, 10.2 x 5.4 m); Corridor (room H, partially excavated, 10.2 x 1.3 m); Triclinium (room C, excavated, 7 x 3.6 m); Large reception room (room B, almost completely excavated, 6.9 x 14 m); Peristyle (room P, partially excavated, north side of portico 30 m); Room with vat or cistern (room R, partially excavated, 7.6 x 4.9 m); Corridor (room Q, partially excavated); Shop and corridor (rooms L and O, partially excavated); Rooms of uncertain function (rooms F, G, M, N, S, to be excavated). In trench F, work began to uncover the remains of a rectangular building on a podium (max. dimensions c. 20 x 11 m), probably the _capitolium_. The excavations this season primarily consisted of the partial removal of a substantial layer of rubble whose volume has been estimated to be about 100 m3. The following were documented: - the main building divided into two spaces, pronaos and cella, the _opus_ _signinum_ floor was almost completely destroyed in the medieval period; - an elongated rectangular structure abutting the south side of the podium (16.5 x 3.4 m). Its walls in _opus_ _caementicium_ were over 1 m wide. Inside there were two dividing walls, also very wide, delimiting two small lateral rooms already buried in origin, while at the centre there was a rectangular room (7.5 x 2 m) with internal facings in _opus_ _vittatum_. At a certain point this room went out of use and was filled with soil; - another building of which little more than part of a room paved in _opus_ _signinum_ was found. It was on a completely different alignment to the _capitolium_. The excavation data indicated that the podium, the building abutting it and the building with _opus_ _signinum_ floor can be dated to the Republican period, while it is probable that the walls of the temple building are of Augustan date and were part of the monumentalisation of the entire urban area, and in particular, the forum. No excavations took place in trench D this season.

During this fourth campaign, excavation continued on both the south side of the forum (trench E) and the west side (trench F), where work continued to uncover the remains of a podium building, probably the _capitolium_. In trench E, the excavation area was extended from 500 to 750 m2 and the number of identified rooms rose from 17 to 25, all belonging to one large _domus_ of Augustan date. The building’s plan was defined further and the function of several rooms identified. Four construction phases were documented, the latest datable to the late 4th-early 5th century A.D. Overall, the following rooms were documented (updated to October 2019): atrium (room A, partially excavated); right wing (room E, excavated); pool (or semi-hypogean room; room D, excavated); _tablinium_ (room I, excavated); corridor (room H, partially excavated); _triclinium_ (room C, excavated); large reception room (room B, almost completely excavated); peristyle with central circular pool (room P, partially excavated); corridor (room Q, partially excavated); shops and corridor (rooms L, O, T, Z, partially excavated); second atrium (or reception room , room G, almost completely excavated); _cubicula_ (rooms F, AB, excavated); rooms of uncertain identification (rooms . M, N, R, S, U, V, AA, AC, AD, to be excavated). In trench F, work continued to uncover the remains of a rectangular building on a podium, probably the _capitolium_, which lay below c. 100 m3 of rubble. This has been removed and it was possible to confirm the existence of: - a main building divided into two rooms (_pronaos_ and _cella_). The cement floor on a stone base was almost completely missing as it was destroyed during the early medieval period when a limekiln was built nearby; - an elongated rectangular building abutting the south side of the podium (16.5 x 3.4 m). Its walls were built in _opus_ _caementicium_ and were over one metre wide. The interior presented two dividing walls. Also of substantial width, which delimited two small lateral rooms that were originally underground. At the centre there was a rectangular room (7.5 x 2 m), its interior wall facing in _opus_ _vittatum_. At a certain point, the latter went out of use and was filled with soil. Three pits were cut into this fill at the time the limekiln was constructed; - part of a room paved in _opus_ _signinum_ belonging to another building on a completely different alignment to that of the _capitolium_ . It is possible to date the podium, the building abutting it and the structure with the _opus_ _signinum_ floor to the Republican period (2nd - first half of the 1st century B.C.), while the walls of the temple building seem to date to the Augustan period. The limekiln can be dated to between the 8th and 10th centuries. Work in trench D was restricted to the maintenance of the structures that had already been excavated.